Farm bureau meets next Tuesday

    ST. AGATHA – Innovative ways that Maine farmers can gain a larger share of the in-state market will be a key topic at the Aroostook County Farm Bureau annual meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 26 at the Lakeview Restaurant in St. Agatha.     The session begins with a social hour at 5:30 p.m., and the annual dinner at 6:30 p.m., followed by the marketing presentation and then a business meeting, which will include elections to the ACFB Board of Directors.
The marketing session will feature a presentation by Jim Cook, operator of the Crown of Maine co-operative. Cook will give a short presentation on how he came to establish his operation, how his farm-to-market system currently works, his expectations for growth and how Farm Bureau could adopt a similar model for its members. He will also provide details on a new handling facility planned for Van Buren.
Following his presentation he will moderate a question-and-answer session on marketing for the Farm Bureau membership.
    A key part of the annual meeting will be the election of members to the county board of directors. Current directors whose terms expire this year include Jeff Smith of Mapleton, Roy Crane and Arthur Sloat, both of Hodgdon; Dan Lapointe and Robert Lapierre, both of Van Buren; Rommy Haines of Fort Fairfield and Andrew King of Easton.
In addition, the Aroostook Beef Producers has two slots on the board that must be affirmed by the annual meeting. Those slots are currently held by Nate Smith of Mars Hill and Stanley Maynard of Woodland. There are also two one-year vacancies on the board.
    Persons interested in serving on the board should contact County President Dan LaPointe in Van Buren or Rommy Haines at the Farm Bureau office in Presque Isle at 764-6464.